Strip-feeding mechanism



Oct, 6, 1925.

Filed July 26, 1933 JITORIYEY.

Patented Oct. 6, 1925.

UNITED STATES- 1,555,975 PATENT OFFICE.

ARCHIBALD B. HUBARD, OF OGONTZ, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO GLOBE TICKET COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- VANIA.

STRIP-FEEDING MECHANISM.

Application filed July 26, 1928. Serial No. 653,904.

[0 all whom. it may concern Be it known that I, Anornnann B. Human, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ogontz, county of Montgomery, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Strip- F ceding Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

In taximete-rs, it is desirable to provide a strip of duplicate tickets and print upon them, one at a time, certain data, particularly distances and rate of fare, and sever the thus printed sheets, one at a time, and deliver them to customers as receipts. The tickets of the roll, as supplied to the taxicab, have certain uniform data printed upon them, such as the name of the taxicab operating company and the headings for the data that are specially printed on each ticket by the taximeter mechanism.

It is convenient and desirable that the strip of tickets associated with the taximeter should be fed from a roll and positioned so that the ticket in advance will be located at the precise point required to receive the data to be printed thereon. This necessitates that the strip of tickets shall be advanced a predetermined distance, no more and no less, as otherwise the imprinting would not be positioned precisely in the limited space provided for it on the individual ticket. Although the marginof error may be slight inthe travel of one ticket or afew tickets, it would become serious or prohibitive in the travel of a considerable number of tickets.

It is rather obvious to provide perforations near the margins of the strips and have them engage by sprocket wheels which will be arranged to turn so as 'to advance the tickets, at each operation, a dis tance equal to the width of a ticket (measuring lengthwise of the strip). It is not practicable, however, to print such strip tickets in the first instance; that is, it is not practicable to perforate the strips so that each ticket will contain precisely the same number of perforations invariably arranged in precisely the same position relative to the printing. Unless this can be done, the printing by the taximeter mechanism will not be in precisely the narrow blank spaceprovided for it.

I have overcome the difiiculty by printing a strip of unperforated tickets of uniform width (which presents no difiiculties) and by associating with the taximeter mechanism by which the strip of tickets, preparatory to the operation of the printing and cutter devices associated with the taximeter, is advanced a predetermined and invariable distance with the same certainty of operation as if it were advanced by sprockets Engaging properly positioned rows of orices.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings, in'which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of the ticket strip engaged by the feed rolls.

Fig. 2 is a face View of the feed rolls in their mountings.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing an end view of the rolls and their mountings.

Fig. 4 is an end view, on a smaller scale,

showing the feed roll gearing and operating b is preferably of steel and is provided near/ its ends with circumferential grooves c, c. The other feed roll is preferably of medium hard rubber and comprises a body section d and end heads 6, e of the same .diameter as the body. Confined between the end heads and the body are erforators f, 7, which are discs having peripheral teeth extending above the periphery of the roll and into the grooves 0, 0, but not sufiiciently far thereinto to bottom in the grooves. The axles of the feed rolls, to which the rolls proper are secured, are supported in the side rames g, g. a The axle o the lower roll is supported in a stationary box, while the axle of the upper roll is supported in boxes h, h, slidable vertically in ides on the frame. The boxes h, h, are old down by springs z, z',-whose tension is adjustable by means of set screws 7', 7', whereby the upper feed roll holds the strip a firmly between it and the lower feed roll, so that on rotation of'the rolls the strip a will be ad vanced as the rolls turn.

It is inadvisable to positively drive only one roll. and I have accordingly secured intermeshing pinions k, k to the axles, which pinions are rotated in unison by means of a large gear wheel Z.

The large gear wheel I is turned manually by means of a lever m, loosely mounted on the axle of the wheel Z and carrying a pawl 0 en aging a ratchet wheel 11 secured to the w eel Z. A holding pawl p prevents the ratchet n and the wheel I from slipping back from the position to which they are turned. Stops r and 8 limit the movementof the lever. A spring it returns the leverm to its initial ition. One of the stops 8 is shown as justable in order that the ratchet which will be turned the predetermined number of teeth required to give the feed rolls the amount of rotationv required to advance theticket strip a distance equal .to the width of a ticket.

Without the tooth and groove construction (f and c there is little likelihood of slippage between the ticket strip and the feed rolls, but the perforators act in as positive a manner as if they engaged reviously prepared holes in the paper, 'Ie the tips of the teeth f should extend into the grooves, they need not extend far enough to actually penetrate the paper (although it is referable to penetrate them lightly), and t ey should not extend far enough to bottom in the grooves. The teeth 1 are, therefore, subject to, no appreciable wear.

While I have described the invention as applied to taximeter mechanism, it is obvious that the invention is not limited to such use, but is applicable to any situation wherein it is necessary that a stri of paper or other fibrous material shall step by step predetermined equal distances,

/ especially where such feed mechanism is to Letters "Patent is:

coordinate with cutting or printing. mechamsm.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim moved I and desire to protect by' 1. Strip feeding means comprising two feed rolls between which the strip is confined, means yieldingly pressing the rolls toward each other to increase the grip ing of the strip by the rolls, means by which the rolls are turnable at equal peripheral speeds, one of the rolls having a circumfer ential groove, and a strip feeder having a series of perforating teeth fixedly carried by the other roll and rojecting beyond the periphery of said roll and registering with and projecting into said groove of the other vacting rolls for feeding the strip gearing connecting said rolls, means for he ding the rolls in feeding relation to the strip, there being a, circumferential oove in one of the rolls and a wheel fixe y carried by the other roll and having spaced perforating teeth extendin beyond the periphery of said roll into t e groove in the other roll,

the teeth on said roll being so close to each other that at least one of said teeth is in engagement with the portion of the strip between the rolls.

3. Strip feeding means comprising two coacting rolls for feeding the strip, gearing connecting said rolls, means for holding the rolls in feeding relation to the strip, there bein two circumferential grooves in one of t e rolls, the other roll having an in termediate section, two end sections and a perforating toothed section between each end section and the intermediate section, the

teeth on the last mentioned sections extending beyond the peripheries of the other sections into the grooves in the first roll,

the teeth on said wheels being so close to each other, that at least one of said teeth is in engagement with the portion-of the stripv between the rolls. I

In testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my hand, at Philadelphia, Pa., on this 25th day of July, 1923.

ARCHIBALD B. HUB-ARD. 

